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Sunday, July 10, 2016

Book Review: Steeplejack by A.J. Hartley

Title

Steeplejack

Author

A.J. Hartley

Genre

YA/Historical fantasy

Publisher

Tor Teen

Pub Date

June
14, 2016

Source

Purchased hardcover from Amazon

Ang Sutonga is the one person who
can find her way from the depths of the Drowning's misery to the top of
Bar-Selehm's city spires and solve the mysteries of a young boy's death and the
theft of the city's greatest treasure.

Publisher’s Description:

Thoughtfully imaginative and action-packed,
Steeplejack is New York Times bestselling A. J. Hartley's YA debut set in a 19th-century
South African fantasy world

Seventeen-year-old
Anglet Sutonga lives repairing the chimneys, towers, and spires of the city of
Bar-Selehm. Dramatically different communities live and work alongside each
other. The white Feldish command the nation’s higher echelons of society. The
native Mahweni are divided between city life and the savannah. And then there’s
Ang, part of the Lani community who immigrated over generations ago as servants
and now mostly live in poverty on Bar-Selehm’s edges.

When
Ang is supposed to meet her new apprentice Berrit, she finds him dead. That
same night, the Beacon, an invaluable historical icon, is stolen. The Beacon’s
theft commands the headlines, yet no one seems to care about Berrit’s
murder―except for Josiah Willinghouse, an enigmatic young politician. When he
offers her a job investigating his death, she plunges headlong into new and
unexpected dangers.

Meanwhile,
crowds gather in protests over the city’s mounting troubles. Rumors surrounding
the Beacon’s theft grow. More suspicious deaths occur. With no one to help Ang
except Josiah’s haughty younger sister, a savvy newspaper girl, and a
kindhearted herder, Ang must rely on her intellect and strength to resolve the
mysterious link between Berrit and the missing Beacon before the city descends
into chaos.

What I liked

"The last person up here never made it down alive, but there
was no point thinking about that." What a terrific first line! This is
great storytelling. Hartley's use of language is smooth and expansive, poetic and
philosophical by turns, and yet completely draws the reader in to the physical
world and Ang's thoughts as she finds herself and her city in increasingly
desperate situations. The mystery and danger feel very
real, as Ang uncovers piece after piece of the puzzle.

I particularly appreciated Hartley's subtle inclusion of the natural
world throughout the story. Ang is a city girl and says herself that she is
uncomfortable around large animals, which are seen and heard throughout the
story as she moves through the city and countryside. A real and imagined
menagerie, including hippos and giraffes in the wild, and jackals and mongoose
living in the old city, as well as weancats and pink rollers (birds) that are
deftly described usually in passing, an integral part of life in and around Bar-Selehm.

What I didn’t like

To be honest, although I loved the worldbuilding, especially the
descriptions of the natural world and the cultures, there are a lot of
storylines weaving together, and sometimes I had a hard time keeping the cast
of characters straight. And the one storyline that felt dissatisfying to me was
around Ang's newborn niece, Kalla, which is the only part of the story that felt unrealistic from the beginning.
However, it included several key elements of storytelling and character
development, and was emotionally important to Ang's narrative.

Summary

I thoroughly enjoyed Steeplejack
and look forward to the next Alternative
Detective story from A.J. Hartley, whether it tells more of Ang's story
or others. This is a fast-paced, engaging read, with a satisfying mystery and
lots of cultural and personal narratives woven together in a fascinating
tapestry.

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Favorite Quotes

You have to start somewhere in order to end up somewhere good!~Margaret S. McGraw

~~~

Be kind, be brave, be fierce, be love.~Laura Anne Gilman

~~~

Some things in life cannot be fixed. They can only be carried.~Megan Devine

~~~

Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. ~Mark Twain

~ ~ ~

Keep your feet on the ground and keep reaching for the stars. ~Casey Kasem

When opportunity puckers up, lean in for a smooch. Only a fool tells the angels to come back tomorrow.~Steven Barnes

~ ~ ~

Be kind whenever possible. It is always possible.~ Dalai Lama

~ ~ ~

We’re fools whether we dance or not, so we might as well dance.~ Japanese proverb

~ ~ ~

No act of kindness, no matter how small, is ever wasted.~ Aesop

~ ~ ~

Everything flows, nothing stays.~ Heraclitus

~ ~ ~

Balance, always a balance. Work to give life purpose, play to lift the heart, music to soothe the spirit, love to give one strength. One cannot ask for more.~ Pelzmantel, K.A. Laity

~ ~ ~

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.~ 1st part paraphrased from J.M. Barrie, author of Peter Pan; 2nd part from either Plato or (more likely) Philo of Alexandria

~ ~ ~

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish ulterior motives... be kind anyway

If you are successful, you will win some false friends and some true enemies... succeed anyway

If you are honest and frank, people may cheat you... be honest and frank anyway

What you may spend years building, someone may destroy overnight... build anyway

If you find serenity and happiness, people may be jealous... be happy anyway

The good you do today, people will often forget tomorrow... do good anyway

Give the best you have, and it may never be enough... give the best you have anyway ~ Mother Teresa